If you’ve spoken to anyone who has completed VCE, they’ll talk about managing SACs and SATs.
But what exactly are they? And how important are they in VCE? We’ll guide you through all things SAC and SAT related, and what it will mean for your VCE journey.
Let’s get started!
Can I calculate my potential study Score?
What is a SAC in VCE?
What is a SAT in VCE?
What types of assessments do VCE SACs involve?
What types of assessments do VCE SATs involve?
Do SACs matter in Year 11?
Do SACs matter in Year 12?
Do SAC results go toward your ATAR?
What happens if you fail a SAC?
VCE Practice SACS
Can I calculate my potential study score?
Yes! By using VCAA’s past graded assessments — which provide the grade distributions of each VCE subject — you can project what grade you will need for each study score.
Want to calculate your potential study score? Our VCE Study Score Calculator uses Unit 3, Unit 4 and exam results to project a study score!
Whether you want to see what exam grade you need for a 40 or what average you need for a 35+, our calculator can help you see how you’re tracking!
👉Find out what you need for your dream study score now!👈
What is a SAC in VCE?
A SAC (School-assessed Coursework) is a form of assessment completed at school in VCE Units 1-4. For each VCE subject, there are a set of outcomes. Each SAC will contribute towards the completion of a particular outcome.
For example, let’s consider Unit 4 Biology. If we look at the study design, we’ll see that this is one of the outcomes:
Outcome 1: “Analyse the immune response to specific antigen, compare the different ways that immunity may be acquired and evaluate challenges and strategies in the treatment of disease.”
– VCE Biology Study Design 2022 – 2026.
To successfully pass this outcome, you will complete SACs that assess your knowledge of this topic.
But what does this mean in the grand scheme of things? In simpler terms:
- For Units 1 and 2, SACs will determine whether you pass or fail a unit.
- For Units 3 and 4, SACs will also contribute to your study score and ATAR.
What is a SAT in VCE?
A SAT (School-assessed Task) is a form of assessment completed at school and at home in VCE Units 1-4.
Like SACs, SATs will contribute towards your completion of a particular outcome.
SATs also contribute to your ATAR in the same way as SACs. With SACs determining whether you pass in Units 1 and 2, and contributing to your study score and ATAR in Units 3 and 4.
SATs take place in portfolio subjects like Design and Food Tech.
What types of assessments do VCE SACs involve?
The specific assessment task you complete will depend on the subject and your school. The best way to know what tasks you will do is to ask your teacher.
However, the study design for each subject can also give you some idea of what types of tasks you might complete.
Let’s take a closer look at Unit 4 Biology again:
Based on this, you might be completing a 50-70 minute written test or perhaps a 10-minute oral presentation.
Although some SACs will be broken down into smaller parts — for example, you might complete 3 smaller tests, all of which contribute to the outcome.
If we scroll down a little and check outcome 3…
You can see that you will conduct an investigation and design a poster for Outcome 3, so this will be one of your SACs.
Depending on the subject and the school, there are many types of assessments that you might need to complete. Other types of assessments that you might complete include, but are not limited to:
- Writing essays and reports
- Musical performances
- Recording notes and submitting a logbook
What types of assessments do VCE SATs involve?
As mentioned before, SATs are in VCE portfolio subjects. This means that VCE SATs are a portfolio of works and/or designs that you’ve likely been tasked to work on over a long period of time.
For example, in Visual Communication Design, you are expected to make “a folio of work presenting the development of design concepts for two distinct communication needs.”
– VCE Visual Communication Design Study Design
By completing this SAT, you will be one step closer to completing Outcome 1 of Unit 4 Visual Communication Design!
Other examples of SATs could be:
- Documentation
- Presentation
- Design exercises
- Report
Do SACs matter in Year 11?
For the purposes of completing your VCE, Units 1 and 2 are only considered on a pass/fail basis. What this means is that as long as you pass all Unit 1 and 2 SACs, that is the only requirement for successfully completing Units 1 and 2.
Now, this does not mean you shouldn’t try to do well! In fact, a lot of SACs in Units 1 and 2 are intended to prepare you for Units 3 and 4. This means that if you do well in Units 1 and 2, this will help you do well in Units 3 and 4 as well.
Likewise, if you don’t do so well in Units 1 and 2, you may consider this when you decide what Unit 3/4 subjects to complete.
Do SACs matter in Year 12?
In Units 3 and 4, SACs will also contribute to your study score and ATAR. This means that the better your SAC marks, the higher your study score. There are a lot of complexities with this – but we’ll go through everything that you’ll need to know.
How much are SACs worth in VCE?
Some SACs will be worth more to your study score compared to others. To check how much SACs matter, check the study design for your respective subject.
Let’s switch over from Biology to Unit 3 English. The relevant page of the study design is page 24 (pictured below).
Image sourced from VCAA
From here, we can see that in total, your Unit 3 SACs contribute to 25% of your final study score.
There are 100 marks allocated to Unit 3 (if you ever hear about “VCAA marks” — this is what people are talking about). Of these marks, the individual assessments for Outcome 1 are worth 30 VCAA marks each, but the assessment for Outcome 2 is worth slightly more at 40 VCAA marks.
To see where this might matter, consider the following example:
| Assessment details | Student 1 | Student 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outcome | SAC | Mark Allocation | Percent Score | Score | Percent Score | Score |
| 1 | 1 | 30 | 80% | 24 | 80% | 24 |
| 2 | 2 | 30 | 60% | 18 | 80% | 24 |
| 3 | 3 | 40 | 80% | 32 | 60% | 24 |
| Total | 100 | Final Score | 74 | Final Score | 72 | |
Both these students achieved 80% in two SACs, but 60% in another SAC. However, student 1 earned more VCAA marks because they performed better in SAC 3, which has more marks allocated to it.
So, how does this lead to your study score?
How do SACs contribute to your study score (ATAR)?
Recall that schools set their own SACs. You might be wondering — what if my school sets harder SACs?
Don’t worry! VCAA will perform moderation and auditing to ensure SACs are fair and reasonable.
Statistical moderation is where VCAA will change your SAC scores depending on how well your school does in the final exam(s). For example, if your school does well in the exams, your SAC scores will be moderated higher.
This might happen if your school sets hard SACs, and is a way of ensuring that SAC scores reflect how well you know your content, rather than how hard the SAC was.
More specifically, rather than being assigned SAC scores, you’re given ranks by your school. The student with the top rank at their school will have their SAC scores changed to the highest score achieved by the school in the exam, even if this is a different student.
The same is performed for the upper quartile, median, lower quartile, and lowest rank (i.e. better than 75%, 50%, 25% and 0% of other students respectively), with all other students being assigned marks based on this.
| Students | Internal Results | External Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAC Score | Rank | Exam Score | Moderated SAC Score | |
| A | 63 | 4 | 80 | 75 |
| B | 73 | 3 | 100 | 80 |
| C | 94 | 1 | 95 | 100 |
| D | 74 | 2 | 75 | 95 |
| E | 50 | 5 | 65 | 65 |
Note: Keep in mind moderation is different to study score scaling.
Auditing is something you probably won’t have to worry about. However, VCAA will occasionally perform audits (or checks) to see if schools are setting fair SACs. This means that you should expect that your school will give you SACs that, even if challenging, are still reasonable.
Do SAC results go towards your ATAR?
All of your Unit 3 and 4 VCE SACs go towards your ATAR.
While they contribute to your final ATAR to varying degrees, they are used in conjunction with your SATs and final exam to determine your study score in a VCE subject (as shown above).
The study scores you receive in each subject are ultimately used to calculate your ATAR!
What happens if you fail a SAC?
If you fail a SAC, don’t stress — it’s not the end of the world. Schools will usually have their own process about what will happen specifically. This could involve being asked to complete a redemption task.
Though you might keep the score of your original SAC (for the purposes of study score calculation), a redemption task might allow you to successfully pass a SAC and therefore, pass the unit.
You should always reflect on your own performance, and think about how you could bounce back to ensure you nail your next SAC!
Tips on Achieving SAC Success
Here are a few of our top tips to prepare for SACs!
- Know what’s on your SAC — will it be a multiple-choice test? Essay? Something else? Also, be sure to know what content will be covered!
- Work smarter, not harder! Sure, you could do 5 practice SACs and call it a day, but it’ll be better if you do 1 under SAC conditions, and see exactly where you went wrong!
- SACs are stressful — but stress can be good! This is easier said than done, but knowing how you function under stress, as well as how to channel stress into positive energy, are things that can improve your SAC performance. One way to do this is to think of SACs as an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge, rather than a threat to your VCE success.
- Stay healthy! Burnout is a real problem, so be sure to look after yourself.
On the hunt for some VCE practice SACs?
Check out some of the ones we’ve created below:
General
- How to Manage Multiple VCE SACs at Once
- What are VCE Study Scores and How do they Affect my ATAR
- Why you should pay less attention to subject scaling
Biology
- VCE Biology Unit 3 AOS 1 Practice SAC
- VCE Biology Unit 3 AOS 2 Practice SAC
- VCE Biology Unit 4 AOS 1 Practice SAC
Business Management
Legal Studies
Psychology
Here are our guides to acing your end-of-year exams:
- How to Prepare for Your End-of-Year Exams for VCE Biology
- How to Prepare for Your End-of-Year Exams for VCE Maths Methods
Are you looking for some extra help with preparing for your VCE SACs?
We have an incredible team of VCE tutors and mentors!
We can help you master the VCE study design for your subjects and ace your upcoming VCE assessments with personalised lessons conducted one-on-one in your home or online!
We’ve supported over 8,000 students over the last 11 years, and on average our students score mark improvements of over 20%! Find this level of support with one of our local Footscray VCE tutors!
To find out more and get started with an inspirational VCE tutor and mentor, get in touch today or give us a ring on 1300 267 888!
Kevin Chen recently completed his Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne. He is now undertaking an Honours year, where he is investigating the rise of hospital superbugs. Kevin lives by the motto “smiles go for miles!”
